The Art of Religion
The Sanford L. Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida (301 Washington Ave., South Beach; 305-672-5044) tells the story of more than 235 years of the Florida Jewish experience. Set inside a 1936 art deco–style former synagogue (now listed on the National Register of Historic Places), the museum offers video displays and historical items that put the past and the present into perspective.

Southern Jewish Culture
The Jewish Museum of Florida (301 Washington Ave.; 305-672-5044; www.jewishmuseum.com) tells the story of nearly 250 years of the Florida Jewish experience in a beautifully-restored historic building.

Local History
The history, culture and folklife of Florida and the Caribbean are the focus of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (101 W. Flagler St.; 305-375-1492; www.historical-museum.org). Exhibits cover everything from Southeast Florida in the late 19th century and Miami Beach in the 1920s to a collection of prints of Florida birds by John James Audubon.

The Lowe Life
The Lowe Art Museum (University of Miami, 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables; 305-284-3535, www.as.miami.edu/ art/lowe.html) has everything from Pre-Columbian to Modern art.

Thank You, MAM
The Miami Art Museum (101 W. Flagler St.; 305-375-3000; www.miamiartmuseum.org), also known as MAM, features superbly curated shows that often spotlight politically controversial artists and issues.

For The Kids
The Miami Children’s Museum (980 MacArthur Causeway, Watson Island; 305-373-5437, www. miamichildrensmuseum.org) is dedicated to enriching children’s lives by fostering an appreciation of their own unique talents. Using both traditional and innovative tools, youngsters play, learn, imagine and create together. Interactive exhibitions, special programs, summer camp and more are offered.

Travel, High and Low
Those with an interest in trains should make their way to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum (12450 S.W. 152nd St.; 305-253-0063), a collection of historic railroad cars such as the Pullman car Ferdinand Magellan, used by FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush. Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium (3280 S. Miami Ave.; 305-646-4200). Those interested in creature features will want to check out the Wildlife Center, with more than 75 live animal residents. Open daily. The planetarium features occasional lectures, laser light shows and star shows.

Aesthetic Estate
Chicago industrialist James Deering’s winter home, Vizcaya (3251 S. Miami Ave.; 305-250-9133, www.vizcayamuseum.org) is a modern-day kubla khan replete with fountains and pool representing four centuries worth of art treasures and rooms stuffed with furnishings from the renaissance to the belle epoque..

Contemporary Creations
Housed in a bright-red ultra-modern building, Miami Art Central (5960 Red Road, Miami, Florida 33143; 305-455-3333; miamiartcentral.org) may be a shrine to modernity but that doesn’t eclipse its mission of spotlighting Hispanic artists. Noted for its inaugural exhibition 10 Floridians, this group show entailed worldwide artists’ impressions of South Florida. Far from the predictable curatorial and exhibition practices of most museums, MAC aims to make art a participatory rather than passive experience for visitors.

Models of Modernity
Established in 1996, North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art (770 N.E. 125th St; 305-893-6211; www.mocanomi.org) includes more than 350 artworks by artists such as John Baldessari and Julian Schnabel. If you’re of a modern bent, Rubell Family Collection (95 NW 29th St.; 305-573-6090; www.gallerguide.org; rubellcollection@mindspring.com) lays claim to one of the world’s finest collections of contemporary art dating from 1975 to the present. Wednesdays through Sundays, 10am to 6pm.

Mecca of the Arts
Coming Soon: The Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami (1444 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 100, 305-377-1220; www.pacfmiami.org) A 570,000-square-foot complex, the PAC is slated to open in October 2005. Designed by iconoclastic, world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli and estimated to cost nearly 350 million, PAC will be the nexus of culture in Miami, the ultimate destination for concerts, theater, modern and interpretive dance, ballet and a variety of special events in the Dade County metro area and an integral part of downtown Miami.

Curtain Calls
There’s always some drama at Coconut Grove Playhouse (3500 Main Hwy.; 305-442-4000, www.cgplayhouse.com).

On Their Toes
The Miami City Ballet (305-929-7010; www.miamicityballet.org) celebrates its 20th season with a program of outstanding works. Artistic Director Edward Villella, recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors, has assembled an outstanding season.

Dynamic Dance
Dedicated to developing the art of flamenco, Ballet Flamenco La Rosa (13126 W. Dixie Hwy.; 305-899-7729, www.panmiami.org) showcases Miami’s best dancers, international guests and works to increase dance awareness at public schools.

Sounds of the Symphony
Led by by world renowned Michael Tilson Thomas, the New World Symphony (Lincoln Theatre, 541 Lincoln Road; 305-673-3331, www.nws.org) boasts adventurous programming f

Acting Out
The award-winning Actors’ Playhouse (Miracle Theater, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables; 305-444-9293, www.actorsplayhouse.org) offers a full season of musicals and plays.

Note-Worthy
Entertainment is showcased year round at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium (2901 W. Flagler St.; 305-547-5414, www.miamidade.gov), including the Florida Grand Opera and Sociedad Pro Arte Gateli (Miami’s oldest Hispanic performing arts company), as well as world-class orchestras and jazz performers.

Hitting a High Note
The Florida Grand Opera (various locations; 305-854-7890, www.fgo.org)

Blockbusters From Broadway and More
The Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave.; 305-673-7300, www.gleasontheater.com) is the answer for lavish entertainment. A classic marine-blue art-deco structure, the venue presents an annual series of touring Broadway productions